Meltdown
by Ten-Faced
Summary: A dinner meeting with her near-stranger of a mother, presents, seriously dysfunctional parent-child relashionships and Kaito as her 'date'. Things could be worse for Aoko, even if she's not feeling particularly optimistic today. Sequel to Invisible. Hints of KaitoxAoko.


**Meltdown**

**Summary:** A dinner meeting with her near-stranger of a mother, presents, seriously dysfunctional parent-child relashionships and Kaito as her 'date'. Things could be worse for Aoko, even if she's not feeling particularly optimistic today.

**Pairings:** Hint of KaitoxAoko.

**A/N:** If you read this part, congratulate me for reaching my goal of a hundred fics. This is #101. Also, don't own anything.

For future reference, I will give a different name to brand names and such because DC does that a lot.

Secret Girl – My version of CoverGirl (makeup brand).

Chancy – My version of Chanel (Designer brand for clothing, purses, perfume, makeup . . . .)

BIS - My version of the famous Korean boy group BIGBANG.

The title _Meltdown_ comes from the famous Kagamine Rin song. I also recommend the covers as well, because picking the title was a nightmare and someone better appreciate the song or else.

**Prequel:** Invisible

**Related to:** Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Scarborough Fair. Clockwork Relations.

**EDIT:** (22/03/2013) Thanks shout-out to mountainelements!

* * *

"Whoa!" Kaito gawked at her as he stood in the living room, dressed in a suit and looking formal for once. "Who knew you actually had some curves?"

Aoko flushed. "Kaito, shut up!"

He was always like this. When she dressed up a bit fancier than usual – like now – he had to make some kind of joke referring to her usual lack of feminine looks and assets. She wished he'd mature magically and be . . . be more like Hakuba-kun. Nice. Gentlemanly. Well-mannered all the time and not just in front of select people.

Naturally, he didn't. "I mean, I thought all along that you were a guy! And here you are with actual cleavage."

Then, he ducked to avoid getting his head crushed in by a paperweight she threw at him. "I'm joking, relax!"

Nakamouri Aoko took a deep breath before she released it. Then for safety measures she repeated the action. "I'm calm," she murmured aloud. "I'm calm. I can do this. I'm just meeting my mother who might as well as be a stranger to me face to face for the first time in a year."

Kaito was his usual self which meant that he was being bluntly annoying, which meant that he shattered the fragile, delicate calm she was trying to put up to protect her sanity by questioning her ability to do certain things she felt she couldn't but tried to pretend she could. "You sure you can do this?"

"No!" she flew back into hysterics. "How am I supposed to face her and not mess up?!"

Kaito made his way over to the sofa and sat down before patting the spot next to him. "Come on, sit down. Let Doctor Kuroba hear all about it."

"_No_! I don't want you dissecting my brain, and even if I was crazy enough to do that we'll be late and then it'll be even more awkward!" Already in her head there were nightmarish scenarios playing out. The soup exploding. A car skidding and smashing into her. A person getting murdered – she heard that random, mysterious murders happened a lot around this one kid everyone in Division One knew. She also heard that they wished the kid would just stay at home and never set foot outside. Ever.

Her mother had called a week ago when Kaito had been in the hospital after getting a concussion during his kidnapping. It was just the usual rare phone call from her, cheerful greetings and happy wishing with a dinner date scheduled, absolutely no refunds for a really expensive restaurant that cost big bucks just to reserve.

Just the usual phone call from her travelling mother, only the woman had dropped a bombshell this time. Her mother, implying that she was worried for her lack of a love life, had asked her to bring a 'date' of a sort along to their dinner meeting. Anyone, really, would do perfectly well as long as the person happened to be a guy that was '_not_ Nakamouri Ginzo'.

_"Unless you're gay,"_ her mother had added as an afterthought, which she had denied vehemently.

And so she was told to bring a date along or face her mother's wrath and revenge. The former wasn't as threatening as the older woman would have wanted, but the latter had certainly made up for it. The problem was that Aoko spent most of her time around only three males; her father (already vetoed by her mother's Divine Right of Motherhood earned by the forty hours of painful labour she spent giving birth to her), Hakuba-kun and Kaito. Kaito had volunteered instantly when she had spilt her guts at the café he had treated her, Hakuba-kun and Akako-chan at, claiming that he had forgotten what her mother was like.

She didn't blame him for forgetting what she looked like. Her mother had always been extremely busy on her job, her father didn't like having pictures of her out and Kaito had met her in person only once back when they were kids. He'd seen her as she was shrugging on a blazer with one arm while dragging a suitcase with the other, so his memory of her was probably a messy-haired blur with a bagel in her mouth running at full speed in pumps trying to catch a plane for a meeting that had been tragically scheduled on one of her rare days off.

One of the reasons why she'd practically grown up over at Kaito's house when she was young; No one had been _home_ when she was young.

Her childhood friend got back up and snapped his fingers, showering her with confetti and colourful flags. "Awkward?" he grinned his trademark, 'all-is-well-and-chaotic' grin. "What is this awkward you speak of?"

Aoko let a smile spread on her face. Okay, so maybe Kaito wouldn't be so bad. "Is the cab here?"

"Yeah, and the driver is grumbling."

She held up the small rectangle of flat plastic. "The one time in my life I get to use this. Behold; my dad's credit card."

"Impressive."

No, not really. Her father just wanted to make sure that his daughter got to the meeting place safely without him having to get within a ten kilometre radius of _that woman_, as he liked to call her mom. That, and he hated it when she tried to pay for anything. Some sort of male pride. She didn't get it and had no intention of trying.

* * *

"I'm sorry, what does your mother do for a living again?" Kaito let out a low whistle at the restaurant her mother had named for their meeting place. "Fancy."

"Yeah, it is," Aoko swallowed and straightened her dress – something Akako-chan had been kind enough to lend her after hearing just where she was going to have a dinner date with her mother. It was a green silk cocktail dress, and, she quoted, 'the bare minimum at _that_ place you're going to', according to her popular friend. After she'd chosen the dress her classmate had made her sit for nearly an hour today as she did the makeup, the hair and pretty much everything else, nearly killing her with boredom and the pins-and-needles feeling that had numbed her leg. Still, it was worth it. A look in the mirror had made her feel elegant. Beautiful.

She gave the reservations to the hostess under the dimmed lights of the restaurant and the two of them were escorted to the secluded table where a woman in a black dress sat, tapping her perfectly manicured fingers against a wineglass.

The warmth and happiness she had felt, the thought of being beautiful and elegant as well as what self-esteem and confidence she had gained by the makeover vanished. Dang. She'd forgotten just how gorgeous her mom was, but the sight of Amane Ruka sitting in her seat in all of her perfect-hair, blue-eyed delicate-featured glory like a news announcer waiting to go live was a pretty good reminder. Despite her age – she was going to turn forty or something in a few months – she still looked like a woman in her late twenties to early thirties. Heck, she was probably more attractive than half the Japanese women actually in their late twenties to early thirties. Aoko mostly went after her father in looks and as solid as Nakamouri Ginzo's looks were they still weren't on the same playing field as her mother's.

Kaito gawked. "_That's_ your mom?" and below his breath he added, "How did I forget _her_?"

_Because the last time you saw her she had serious bed head and was royally pissed at the world for making her leave the house on her day off,_ she thought but didn't say out loud. Instead, Aoko just tightened her grip on his arm and all but dragged him to the table. "Hi, mom," she said tensely as she sat down. Kaito bowed a bit jerkily and sat down in his own seat as well.

Amane Ruka gave a bright white smile worthy of a toothpaste add. "Aoko!" she leaned over and gave her a one-armed but warm hug. "How have you been, sweetie?"

"Good. Mom, you remember Kaito, right?" she gestured robotically at the only male at their table before putting her hands back under the table. For extra precaution she wiped her sweaty palms on the tablecloth. No one would notice and the last thing she needed was for something expensive to slip out of her hands and shatter.

"Of course I do," the dazzling smile turned fond. "With the way you speak about him on the phone-"

"_Mom_."

Kaito snickered, already relaxed and at home. Teasing Aoko was familiar territory for him. "Nice to meet you again, Amane-san," he said, calling her by her maiden name like she had told him to do. They were only separated, not divorced, yet her mother insisted on using her maiden name. "It's been a long time."

Oh, like he even remembered what she had _looked_ like before today.

"Likewise, Kaito-kun. Please, just call me 'Ruka-san'," she leaned back in her seat. "What would you like to eat?"

Her father's credit card was burning through the clutch purse she had with her. 'Don't let your mother buy again,' he had said. Every time she went to meet her mom it always ended with her mother paying the bills. Her father strongly disapproved of this, which was why she had received unlimited – or as unlimited as the credit card went – funding from him for tonight.

Aoko gulped slightly as she eyed the prices on the menu. Wow. This would give her father ulcers when he got the bill. "I'll have a salad," she decided.

Her mother shot her an exasperated look. "Aoko, are you trying to go on a diet?"

"No, I'm just not hungry," she lied, trying to make the emptiness in her stomach go away by the sheer force of will. Dang it, she should have eaten something before she came.

"Oh, really," her mother propped her elbow on the chair's armrest before resting her chin on the palm of her hand. "The way your stomach is growling tells me that you're actually very hungry."

Right on cue – and much to her mortification – her stomach growled. Not loud enough for anyone outside of their immediate vicinity, but enough for her mother and Kaito to hear.

Amane Ruka smiled victoriously. "Eat, Aoko," she said, her tone gentle and motherly. "They have an amazing chef here."

Kaito had no shame. "Some of these look really good. Have you ever tried broiled lamb chops with-"

"I get it," she ground out. The world was conspiring against her.

Her mother snapped her fingers, and a waiter instantly materialized at their sides. "We'd like to order now."

Giving up, she ordered the lamb chops Kaito suggested and a soda. Her mother, ever the hypocrite, ordered a chicken garden salad and soup with fresh bread. Kaito rattled off at least five different things on the menu before he turned to her mother. "Should I order dessert now, or later?"

Aoko stepped on his foot, but at the moment he was apparently immune to the pain of a borrowed high heel digging into his toes.

"Oh, later will be fine. Sweets don't like to sit around long."

The waiter bowed, and left. "So how have you been, mom?" Aoko asked, trying to make conversation about her mother for once. Every time the two of them met they ended up talking about her, never the elusive older woman. Her knowledge on her mother's life was rather limited and the only chance she ever got to learn more about her was at the occasional dinners they arranged, where she could go through a crash course on bonding with a mostly away mother in two or three hours.

Her mother sipped her wine. "My company's got a project with interest around here," she said vaguely. "I'll be staying in this area for some time."

Aoko perked up. "Really? Will you be seeing dad?"

"Ah . . ." her mother looked pained, almost embarrassed. "No, I'm afraid not. I think he's still a bit angry at me. He needs more time and really, so do I. Oh, but don't worry, our relationship's not _totally_ out of commission yet."

The same thing she'd been saying since eight years ago when they separated after their first (and only, as far as she knew) huge fight. How much time was 'more time'?

Of course, her father was still very much angry at her mother, but Aoko wished that their family could be somewhat normal. "Will I get to see you more often?"

Ruka nodded.

Kaito beamed. "That's great news!" he said, cheerful for her instead. He was a good friend for sure. "Hey, Ruka-san, do you know my mom?"

"Kuroba Chikage?" he bobbed his head up and down in confirmation. "Yes, I know her. We used to talk every now and then. Does she remember me?"

"Probably. Maybe you could spend more time with her as well. She's been at home more often now, and I think she needs to be with more friends. She's been through some rough times recently."

'Rough times' was a mild way of putting it. Kuroba Chikage had been absolutely shocked when she had come home after a trip to Chicago and Vancouver only to find that her son had been kidnapped by a serial kidnapper. He had come back home soon, rescued by the police, but she had clearly been terrified at the abduction of her only son despite her efforts to cover it up.

"She's not hurt?" her mother asked, looking genuinely worried. Kaito shook his head. "Well, I'll be sure to drop in when I get the time. Do you still live in the same house as before?"

"Yup. We haven't moved. She'll probably be around home most of the time."

Was it her imagination, or did Kaito look rather pained all of a sudden? He had definitely grimaced.

Maybe his mom was being overprotective. Sudden restrictions on the normally wild class clown wouldn't have been particularly nice for him.

"Mm," her mother emptied her glass of wine before she filled it again. Aoko hoped she wasn't going to drive. "So what's new in school? Aoko, you didn't tell me much about the two new students in your class."

Because she had never once gotten the chance. "Akako-chan lent me this dress. She's really pretty. A lot of boys at our school like her," Aoko recited mechanically. "And then there's Hakuba-kun, who's a detective from Britain."

Ruka blinked, looking a bit taken aback. "Hakuba Saguru, the teenage detective?"

Kaito made a face. Aoko stepped on his foot again. He was being very rude. "Yes."

"Does he treat time almost religiously? The one I know has a pocket watch that's extremely accurate."

"You know him?"

The former shock was gone now and in its place was mild amusement mixed with irritation. "I met him once, on a case in England I was involved with," she said, giving vague details again. "Remarkable young man. I also hear things about him from his mother."

Aoko looked at her mother, really trying to look at her. "You work with Hakuba-kun's mother?"

Her mother poured some more wine into her glass. "She and I are part of a team at my company, yes."

"What's she like?" now that she thought about it, she knew nothing about Hakuba-kun's mother. All she knew was that his father was the Superintendent – and therefore her father's boss – and that his family apparently owned a laboratory. Or so she had made out from her father's drunken complaints after a harsh night. Hakuba-kun didn't talk about his family at school.

"Exact. Ingenious. Resourceful. Serious," Amane Ruka's lips turned up into a mischievous smile, like she remembered an inside joke. "OCD, as one of my colleagues likes to call her. She's not, but my colleague often butts heads with her on certain matters in our company."

Kaito frowned. "Ruka-san, what exactly do you do for a living?"

The waiter chose that moment to pop up with their food. He gave her the soda – with ice, lemon and a fancy paper umbrella – and the lamb chops, served her mother's chicken salad and soup and gave Kaito his drink before leaving them once more to bring Kaito his food.

Her mother unrolled the napkin and picked up the salad fork. "I'm a secret agent."

"You are?" Aoko blurted out without thinking.

"Nope!" Ruka swallowed a mouthful of salad as she watched her daughter and former neighbor do a face plant on the table. "I'm joking. I just work for a corporation that deals with international trade and stock. But that's enough about me. What else is going on in your school?"

It was clear she didn't want to talk about it. Aoko made a mental note to grill her mother – and if that didn't work, her father – before telling her some useless piece of gossip Keiko had picked up from Sayaka in the other class while the waiter busily ferried Kaito's orders back and forth from the kitchen.

Her mother found the useless piece of gossip fascinating and opened up a bit more about herself.

* * *

By the time they were finally ordering dessert, Aoko had managed to glean a few more things about her mother like she always did at their meetings. Her mother was a high-ranking executive in her company and from what she could pick up they were currently working on a huge project in Ekoda, or at least in Japan. She knew (and worked with) Hakuba-kun's mother. She'd been to several countries this year for several of the company's projects. She liked Bordeaux wine and things from Secret Girl and Chancy.

"This was a gift from one of my colleagues," her mother gestured at the black dress she was currently wearing, apparently something from the spring collection of a brand that sadly wasn't Chancy but was still quite famous. Something unpronounceable that started with an 'A'. "I get spoiled by my team."

"Is he cute?" Aoko couldn't help but ask, glancing at her mother's left hand. While her parents weren't divorced (only separated and not yet 'totally out of commission') her mother was attractive enough to snag several suitors.

She tried to calm herself at the sight of them empty ring finger, telling herself mentally that her mother had never liked wearing a ring and if she wanted a new spouse Ruka would have divorced her husband first.

Before her panic could escalate into a seizure her mother stepped in and killed the suspicion. "_She_ is adorable," her mother stressed the pronoun with a knowing look. Aoko blushed.

Kaito snickered – something he'd been doing a lot during this dinner – as he finished up his hot fudge sundae and moved onto the triple chocolate cake.

"Actually, she would have come too, only she doesn't like to eat outside," Amane Ruka rolled her eyes. "She's extremely picky about what she eats. Nearly vegan, except she eats goat cheese."

"Vegan?" Aoko mouthed the unfamiliar word and framed it as a question.

"Someone who abstains from animal products," Kaito answered. "A lot of celebrities are vegan."

"It's a very hard diet, I hear," her mother finished off her wine. "And now . . . present time!" she announced, reaching below the table to bring up a huge unmarked shopping bag.

Aoko tried to not sigh. She really did. But the sheer size of that bag . . . . sigh. "Did you buy me an elephant?"

"No," her mother frowned. "Why, did you want one?"

"No! It's just that . . . the bag is huge."

"Don't worry; you have more than one present," Ruka looked more like the receiver of the gift than the giver as she pushed the bag across the table towards her with an excited expression. "Open it!"

The quantity of her present – or presents – hadn't been what she was worried about. Aoko tugged away the tissue paper. "Is that a laptop?" she said, surprised. Oh gosh, it was the latest model from a company that even she knew made good – and expensive – products. "Mom, how much did that cost?"

"The laptop, or the other things?"

"Mom!"

"Aoko, you have to let me have some fun! Your father won't let me contribute any money in your raising – I'm still very mad at him for that, by the way, let him know, would you? – and this is the only way I can really spend some money on you! Now look through the rest of your presents."

Well, the laptop was pretty . . . and very tempting to keep. She took the box off the table and set it aside for now. The next item within the huge bag proved to be some kind of long, thin velvet box.

"There was this one family-owned shop in Europe that specialized in custom jewelry. I thought you might like it," her mother excused as she opened it to find a charm bracelet. "It's supposed to be good luck."

"How much did it cost?"

"Aoko, it's the thought that counts in things like this."

"Don't most people say that when it's cheap?" Kaito's quick, clever hands slipped over hers and ran a finger down the few charms her mother had already supplied. "I'd say about two hundred dollars in US currency, not including the charms."

"_Mom_!"

"You, Kaito-kun, have an excellent eye for jewelry. It's technically worth a hundred and ninety-nine, by the way."

"That's too expensive!"

"Actually, if you think about it, it's really not. Most times custom-made jewelry-"

"Shut up, Kaito! It's still too much money to be spent on some chunks of metal!"

"_Expensive_ metal," her mother stepped in to save the young magician before adding, "It's justified now."

"I can't believe this," Aoko moaned, nearly dropping the gifts as she put her face into her hands. "Dad's going to be so angry."

"That's normal, then," her mother dismissed her concern about her former husband all too casually. Kaito laughed – the jerk – and replaced the silver bracelet back into the box. "Aren't you going to open the last one?"

She lifted her head out of her hands. "There's another one?" she asked warily.

"Of course!"

The last gift – an envelope with nothing written on it – proved to be a bit difficult to find, considering the amount of tissue paper still left in the bag. She held it in her hands and stared at the bag, wondering if there was anything else in there that her mother hadn't told her about. "Gee, thanks."

Ruka coughed. "Look inside first, dear."

If it was money she was going to throw it at her mother and run like hell, just like her father had taught her to do after the two of them had fought. Or, at least try to run like hell on high heels her feet were unused to. She opened the unglued flap and took out the two different slips of paper within. Neither were checks, though the logo on both of them was startlingly familiar.

"Mom, is this a 1315 concert ticket?"

"Personally, I prefer to call them 'BIS'. It's a really cool trick they used to make the group name, kind of like Kaitou Kid with his International Criminal number. And yes, the one in your left hand is. The other one is a backstage pass to the after party. _Very_ limited edition, only ten were sold to make sure the boys could get a break after three hours of non-stop singing and dancing on a huge stage for thousands of screaming fans. You _do_ like that group, right?" her mom added at the end, looking suddenly worried at the possibility of her daughter hating the singing group.

"Who doesn't?" she muttered before stepping on Kaito's foot again for the rude sound he made at the mention of the Korean boy group. "Mom, just how much did this all cost?"

"Oh, not much," at Aoko's look of incredulous disbelief her mom raised her hands in a calm-down gesture. "I'm serious! The laptop and the tickets were gifts from two of my colleagues!"

"And the bracelet?"

"Another one of my colleagues knew the store owner so he gave me a huge discount. If you think about it I actually _saved_ money."

Aoko didn't want to go into the mathematics that came with her mother's justification with shopping. "Still, I can't take them."

"If you don't I'll have them wrapped up in lace lingerie before being shipped to your father's office," her mother threatened.

"You're kidding."

"I'm not, actually. And I'll have a bunch of girls dressed in play-bunny costumes delivering it."

Aoko took the gifts and put them back into the large shopping bag. She knew when she was beat. "Waiter, bill please!" She called instead, getting her father's card ready in her hands. Her mother just smiled instead of scrambling for her purse. What was she up to?

Their server came . . . but with a tray that already had a credit card sitting on it. "Your card, madam," he bowed as he presented the tray to her mother, who took the card with a nodded thanks.

"Mom, I was going to pay."

"I know," her mom tucked her returned credit card into her wallet and signed the receipt with an extra smug flourish. "That's why I gave my credit card to them before the dinner."

Her father was not going to be happy about that.

* * *

Sighing, Aoko pushed the glass door and wobbled on the borrowed high heels out of the restaurant and into the colder, fresher air outside. Kaito followed behind her and held the door open for her mother, who was shrugging on a black blazer over her dress.

"Thank you, Kaito-kun," she beamed before turning to her to give her daughter one last tight hug. "I know it's awkward for you to call me when I haven't been around for so long," she said into her ear. "But just remember, you can always turn to me when you're in trouble, okay?"

"Okay," she patted her mother's back. She didn't know why, but it felt right. Sort of.

"I love you, sweetie," her mother released her and straightened up. "Now you two stay out of trouble, alright?"

"What trouble could we get into?" she asked in disbelief.

And Amane Ruka just winked.


End file.
